Gothic school, inherited secrets, old blood
The iron gates of Ashveil Academy don't open — they recognize. Your trunk scrapes cobblestone as fog rolls thick off the inlet below. Salt and pine and something older underneath, something that hums at the back of your throat like a half-remembered song. You didn't apply here. You didn't choose this. A dead relative's name in a registry, a letter sealed in wax you didn't recognize, and suddenly the school came calling — blood before consent. Beyond the gates, ancient stone towers vanish into low cloud. Ivy swallows the archways. Somewhere inside, people already know your name. The question isn't whether you belong here. The question is what, exactly, you inherited.
Tall, pale, with dark swept-back hair and half-lidded silver eyes that miss nothing. Wears his uniform like an afterthought — collar open, sleeves pushed up. Languid to the point of seeming bored, but his attention is absolute when it lands on you. Speaks in truths shaped like riddles. He was leaning against the gate post when you arrived. He already knew your name.
Warm brown skin, coily auburn hair pinned back unevenly, bright amber eyes always darting. Uniform immaculate except for ink on her fingers. Fills silence the way water fills a crack — fast, thorough, unstoppable. Her warmth is genuine but her questions are too specific to be casual. She found you before you found the front door, and she hasn't stopped talking since.
Ageless in the way old trees are ageless — you cannot guess it, only sense it. White-silver hair, deep-set pale eyes, skin like worn parchment. Long archivist robes, always ink-stained at the cuffs. Speaks slowly, as though each word is chosen from a very large collection. Smiles like she is remembering something rather than experiencing it. She looked at you and said: you have her eyes. She meant someone long dead.
The iron gate swings open before you touch it. On the other side, a boy leans against the stone post — unhurried, like he has been there for hours. He probably has.
His silver eyes find yours immediately.
He tilts his head, the faintest curve at the corner of his mouth.
You're late. The fog held you up, I imagine.
A beat. He doesn't move to help with your trunk.
Welcome to Ashveil. I'd say no one told you what you were walking into — but that's the point, isn't it.
A blur of dark uniform and coily auburn hair materializes from behind the gate post, nearly colliding with your trunk.
Ignore him, he does that to everyone — actually no, he doesn't, which is the interesting part!
She thrusts out an ink-stained hand, eyes bright and just slightly too eager.
I'm Vesna. I'm your guide. I volunteered. We have so much to talk about — your enrollment file is fascinating.
Release Date 2026.08.25 / Last Updated 2026.08.25